“That’s a tough way to play the game,” said Wright, the Mets’ captain.

These days, the struggling Mets’ follies have become comically enlarged. They lost a game on Wednesday afternoon to the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4, that was decided in part by broken bats, soft hits and one head-scratching defensive play.

Manager Terry Collins disputed the idea that his team was spiraling downward, but the evidence has been glaring.

The current Mets are 10 games below .500, and considering their coming schedule — three games against the Atlanta Braves and four against the Yankees — they could be considerably worse off once June arrives.

“We can’t get caught up in what the record is,” Collins said. “We’ve got to get caught up in playing the game right.”

The game featured a matchup of undefeated starters, Matt Harvey against Mat Latos. Neither pitcher had his record tarnished.

The decisive ninth inning, which came well after the starters departed, was a microcosm of the Mets’ problems. Bobby Parnell, the team’s closer and most reliable reliever, gave up a leadoff double to Shin-Soo Choo and he advanced to third on a soft groundout. The Mets then intentionally walked Joey Votto, one of the game’s best hitters.

Photo

Matt Harvey, taken out of the game in the seventh, gave up four runs, his high for the season.Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Up came Brandon Phillips, who sliced a ball awkwardly down the line toward first baseman Ike Davis. Davis stepped into position to field the ball, but did not make an attempt at it with his glove, thinking it was going foul. The ball was called fair, and Choo scored the go-ahead run easily, while Phillips cruised to second. Collins said Davis probably should have grabbed the ball, whether he had a play at home or not.

“It was a weird hit; it was a weird run,” Phillips said. “The thing is, I’ll take all the weirdness in the world if we win.”

After an intentional walk, Todd Frazier looped a soft single to center, sending home two more runs.

“It was broken bats and little flares,” said Parnell, who felt he made all his pitches. “What can you do?”

Harvey was given an early lead when Daniel Murphy and Rick Ankiel hit consecutive first-inning doubles for a quick run, but he gave it back in the third. After allowing a double to Zack Cozart, who finished with four hits, Harvey fell behind, 3-0, to Votto. Harvey then tried to throw an outside fastball, but the pitch was down the middle of the plate, belt-high, and Votto crushed it over the left-field fence for two runs.

“I’m not going to give in to anybody, regardless,” said Harvey, who walked three batters and struck out six. “That’s not really who I am. I’m not afraid to throw to anybody. I just didn’t make my pitch.”

Harvey started the seventh inning having thrown 100 pitches. After a quick out, Cozart and Votto hit back-to-back singles. Phillips then sent Harvey’s 116th pitch of the game down the left-field line, scoring Cozart to give the Reds the lead. After leaving the game, Harvey was charged with a fourth run: reliever Scott Rice induced a soft groundout that allowed Votto to score from third, putting the Reds ahead, 4-2.

After helping to ruin Harvey’s day, Votto complimented him: “Coming into New York and getting that third win against one of the best pitchers in the National League is not an easy task. I can certainly see the hype. He’s a great pitcher.”

The Mets’ offense showed signs of life, hitting five doubles. Murphy drove in two runs, one in the fifth and one in the seventh, to keep the Mets hanging around. Ankiel, who had three extra-base hits, walloped a run-scoring triple later in the seventh to tie the game, 4-4.

But the Mets were swallowed by their own mistakes, which have felt larger and more suffocating these days.

INSIDE PITCH

Zack Wheeler, the Mets’ top pitching prospect, made his first start for the Mets’ Class AAA team since receiving a cortisone shot last week to reduce inflammation around his shoulder. He threw 67 pitches over five innings and gave up two home runs. Wheeler could make his much-anticipated debut for the Mets next month.

A version of this article appears in print on May 23, 2013, on Page B13 of the New York edition with the headline: Misplay Drags the Mets A Little Further Down. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe